Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-03-12
LOCOMOTIVES.
ON THE SICK LIST AND IN THE HOS
PlTAl FOR REPAIRS.
The Historlcai '.65s" which Drew the
Special Train to EIberon Wear and
Tear of an Engine->ome
"Old- Timers"


New York SUM-
By far the most int resting building of
the Pennsylvania railway repair shops. on
the meadows between Hsckensack and J =
sey City, is the round-hou>s, where stalls
are provided for forty-one locomotives.
aside from the three entrances, which can
be util zed at pinch Engines in all man.
ner Of unIresS costumes resting in these
stalls. receiving . respite from their arduous
work. One Of them. a freight is just in
from the line to have her sand box repaired,
and will return to her labors in an hours
time. Another. known the p" class,
which constitutes the heaviest engines run
on the road. is stripped bare of all its eN-
terror arrangements, AMI even 10 its five
Observation-Disclosures and its ls1s S2+ cylinders.
its identity is only known BY a common
chalk mark on its naked boiler, l,059 This
Is one Of the engines that hauls the bulky
southern and western mail trains, and WAS
constructed pecially for that pur-
pose. Its weight equipped for service,
is fifty tons, or four tons heavier
than the N" engine 81, which
stands undres>ei near it, The latter, with
its long legs-its drivers are six feet six
inches in diameter-appears TO he more
weighty, but the former makes up the diff
ference in the length of its boiler and the
size of the cylinders
Hard by several other passenger en-
gines known as the A ella $ whose num-
hers run from l.030 to l,Ol5 and whose
weights average 451S tons. These are the
most popular engines on the road, and can
steam work and run better with eight or
ten cars than any other class. MANY of the
locomotive. are now in the shops receiving
. stopping fire box instead of the old flash.
Toned fiat surface. The new style of box
rests upon the frame Of the engine. allows
eight inches more Of heating space, and
lessons the chances Of spreading the wheel
by close proximity To the fire-box. Thus
far only twelve engines have been furnished
with the new arrangement but so soon as
the half-dozsn locomotives that are now be-
ing put into shape for the Long Branch
route are out Of the way the innovation in
heating will be extended to Others
Among the engines that will leave the
shops this week is the historical 65s. which
established its record in July. lsSl, ON the
day DR. Frank H Hamilton WAS sum-
moned TO Garfields bedside. At half an
hours notice it whirlei the special train
from Jersey City to Philadelphia in one
hour ami thirty eight minutes, including
one stop and several slowdownS Aui
again in the following September, when
Garfield was taEen to Eberon. 65s was de-
tailed to haul the special train; and two
weeks later the 65S began the mournful
ride which, starting at Elberon. ended at
Cleveland, Ohio. Last year 65S was put in
charge Of En- yineer McLsan on the Long
Branch limited express, and ran l2i mile
every day for twelve wesks in a few min
utes over three hours. including eight stops
In September she went TO the shops for a
thorou n overhauliny, and has been there
ever since Next week 6jS will resume its
old trips under Its old engineer. This en-
gins il one of the lightsst on the road. II
weighs only thirty mine tons
How often is an engine in mead of re-
pairs'" was asked of one OF the head me-
chanics.
That is dependent as much upon the engi-
neer as upon the engine itself. For instance,
some engineers handle an engine very care
fully and easily. while others pound them
to pieces in quick order. The fast express
engines suffer the most The wear and tear
upon them is beyond the comprehension of
the ordinary passenger. For instance an
engine is sent to the shop for slight repairs;
say her tire has worn down Very often
tina: viii lead to the read justment of her
motion work. and a thorough renovation OF
all her parts follows We ought TO get So
600 or GO. 900 miles out Of an engine before
she requires complete overhauling There
have been exceptions. where a locomotive
has run 20 900 miles without the need Of a
single repair beyond the kind that the en-
gineer himself can attend to: on the other
hand, some have been returned here with a
record Of only ~ 900 miles
lr fr,~ tha
ancyf-
1T runs in the metal altogether. One
piece of steel will not yield TO dynamite
pounds 10 the square inch. Science. ex-
perisnce, and brains have not as vet been
able to overcome the metal while il is IN
this tickle AMI capricious condition, or to
ex lain why it is So"
A short distance off was q locomotive
graveyard, where q row Of dismantled en-
gines gloomilv stood awaiting the railway
Ciaron to consign them to oblivion They
were regular old timers and were doubtless
looked up to by our fathers with feelings of
awe and veneration for hauling them over
to Philadelphia in the unprecedented ed tine
Of four hour. stopping at all the principal
stations" The SIGHT Of this melauca aoly
process ion uggested another question:
What is the average life Of locomo-
tiver
The guide laughed Railway experts
differ radically upon that point The life Of
an engine ought to be taken from the work
it does-its mileage We base here all our
expenses upon mileage. But there are other
contingencies, such as the durability of the
metal and the man who drives. II two en-
gines Of the same class are taken. duplicat
in every respect and one is put on a slow
train on O small branch road, with nothing
T. do but draw three or four coaches, and
the otter is assigned to a fast express on the
main line with ten or twelve cars, both per-
forming the same daily mileage which one
will live the longerf'